«Providing information and correctly communicating the value of packaging to consumers are priority themes for Acimga.
For the Association of Italian manufacturers of machinery for the graphic, paper and converting industry, it is, in fact, a priority to make it clear that the entire packaging supply chain, starting from raw materials, moving on to technological suppliers and arriving at the end-of-life of products, is acting with great determination with a view to sustainability.
We believe, therefore, that it is our task to combat misleading messages unsupported by scientific evidence that lead to a fall in people’s trust in packaging.
It should also be pointed out that we operate in a country that boasts an excellent model in the field of packaging material recycling, and also has a proven capacity in the field of conversion, packaging and recycling technologies.

Italy can, in particular, rely on a cutting-edge printing and coupling machine industry, driven by the needs of converters to meet growing expectations in terms of the sustainability of materials.
To put it another way, much intelligence has been applied and much investment has been made by our member companies to ensure that the process is developed in line with the characteristics and properties of the materials to be converted, so as to avoid any discrepancies between input and output.
The market, moreover, wants functional packaging which, besides protecting the product, has to be able to inform the consumer.

Our attention, it goes without saying, is focused on the informative functions of what is printed on the packaging, essential for guaranteeing the consumer access to indications relating to the product and the producer, as well as the correct means of use and enjoyment, perhaps adding information online, thanks to the QR Code, digital watermark or digimarc barcode.
All this must be “narrated” through packaging made with materials, inks, adhesives and machines that guarantee the best possible conditions of use, safety and adequate recyclability or compostability.

As already said, while on the one hand Italian machine manufacturers are influenced by a demand for packaging which is appropriate for the recovery and recycling industry, on the other hand, there are aspects intrinsic to the technological evolution of plant.
Much has been done in this field to reduce energy consumption, which has fallen in the last decade by about 50%, but also for minimising set-up and processing waste.
The fact remains that the demand for products with superior performance from an environmental point of view has guided development, with the objective of offering, in any case, effective solutions in line with changing demands: from materials with reduced thicknesses, to bio-based film, to new treatments for paper. These are all important things to communicate to consumers who, for their part, are increasingly requiring companies to account for their sustainability.

In this sense, Acimga has contributed to setting up the Sustainability and Circular Economy Project of the Paper and Graphics Federation, of which it is a member, which has decided to provide concrete practical-organisational support to members, thanks to tools designed for environmental, social and economic reporting that complies with international standards and the expectations of both customers and suppliers, as well as private and public finance organisations.
In conclusion, it is a very complex challenge, which is certainly difficult to transmit to the consumer who sees only the packaging in their hands. Perhaps, however, it would be sufficient to explain to the consumer that “the packaging is the product”, and one cannot be had without the other, and that an entire supply chain is working make it better and better».